1-18 - 1/19 Preview and Review

Well, I hate to say I told you so, but...
Brian's pick Escobedo, I pick Escobedo, Winner Escobedo
Brian's pick Mora, I pick Mora, Winner Mora
Brian's pick Pascal, I pick Pascal, Winner Pascal
Brian's pick Miranda, I pick Miranda, Winner Miranda
Adorno gave Escobedo a good fight, but he was unable to win. Mora got a ridiculous stoppage against Ruvalcaba. Ruvalcaba had a lose upper body and was not going to win, but he was not in trouble when the fight was stopped. I underestimated Pittman a bit, and perhaps overrated Pascal, who won a fairly heavy decision but looked pedestrian against Pittman, who had him in trouble more than once. If Pascal fights a tough guy, he will lose his unbeaten record. Miranda returned to form with a stunning KO that almost put Banks out of the ring onto the floor. Very exciting fight that can be seen on espn360.com. Leader in the clubhouse for KO of the year.
This week should be a good one, if only for the big fight. 3 cards, the regulars on Friday and a PPV on Saturday. We begin with Telefutura on Friday. The co-feature is an 8 round Flyweight bout between Raul Martinez and Alex Baba. Martinez was born and fights out of San Antonio. He is 20-0-0 and 25 years old. He was the US National Champ in 2002 and 2003. His last fight was a short one when the modest Evaristo Primero could not continue in the 5th round in July. I have seen him fight a couple of times unmemborably a while back. He has never really fought anybody of any consequence except Alex Becerra, whom he TKOd in the first round in June of 06. He is currently rated 17th in the All-Time Flyweight ratings and 9th in the Active ratings. Baba was born in Accra, Ghana and fights out of Doraville, GA. He is 26-11-1 and 37 years old. He was an Olympian for Ghana in 1992. He fought for the World Flyweight title against Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in October of 01 and was getting cleaned before an accidental cut stopped the fight in the 8th, giving him the L. In his last fight, he won a wide Unanimous decision over a modest Jose Laureano in June. I have seen him fight unmemorably twice. He has fought several good names, losing to Wonjongkam, Ricardo Vargas, Jose Miguel Aguiniga, Cornelius Lock, Gabriel Elizondo, Antonio Escalante, Eric Morel, and Cecilio Santos, and earning a draw with Danny Romero. He has been campaigning at Bantamweight for some time and is coming back down to Fly for this fight. He is currently rated 29 in the All-Time Bantamweight ratings and 29th in the Active Bantamweight ratings. This is a guy on the rise, fighting the best guy he has faced to date, looking to beat a former title contender as he tries to become a title contender himself. Baba has never beaten anybody of Martinez's status, but he has fought a lot of them. He is on the downside of his career, but he should still have enough in the tank if Martinez doesn't come prepared to fight. If Martinez is hungry, he could end it early. The Brian's say Martinez 813.7 over Baba 655.7. I think Martinez will be ready and I think he'll win.
The Main Event on Telefutura is a 10 round Welterweight fight, Jesus Soto Karass vs. Germaine Sanders. Soto Karass was born in Los Mochis, Mexico and fights out of LA. He is 18-3-3 and 25 years old. In his last fight he won a unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Buendia in November, as predicted in this space. Including the Buendia fight, I have seen him fight five times. He is tall, skinny and can punch. He lost to Nurhan Suleyman and Yuri Foreman, he drew with Manuel Gomez, but he beat Vince Phillips, though Phillips was on the downside. He is currently rated 78th in the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 40th in the Active ratings. Sanders fights out of Chicago. He is 27-4-0 and 37 years old. His last fight was a close unanimous decision loss to the unbeaten and good at the time Shamone Alvarez in August. I saw the Alvarez fight and nothing really stands out about Sanders. In addition to Alvarez, he beat Emmanuel Clottey and lost to Teddy Reid. He is currently rated 143rd in the All-Time Welterweight ratings and 46th in the Active ratings. This should be a competitive fight. Both guys are in a position to have visions of grandeur. The Brian's put this at Soto Karass 803.3 over Sanders 782.5. I gotta stick with Soto Karass as the hotter guy and the guy who has been tested a little bit more.
The other Friday night card is on ESPN. The co-feature is a 10 round Welterweight fight between Randall Bailey and Anthony Mora. Bailey was born in Opa Locka, FL and fights out of Miami. He is 35-6-0 and 33 years old. He is a former two-time World Light Welterweight champ. His last fight was a split decision loss to the very tough Herman Ngoudjo in June. I have seen him fight twice and while I think his skills are eroding, he is still very tough, a good puncher, a good boxer. More speed and quicks than thudding power, though he has 32 KOs in his 35 wins. He has all kinds of good names on the resume, Santos Pakau and Carlos Gonzalez, and losses to Miguel Angel Cotto, Demarcus Corley, Diosbelys Hurtado, Ener Julio, and Ishe Smith. He is rated 31st in the All-Time ratings and 14th in the Active ratings. Mora was born in and fights out of Thornton, CO. He is 15-1-0 and 30 years old. His last fight was way back in March of 06, a loss by retirement in the fifth round against a decent Rustam Nugaev. I have never seen him fight and the loss to Nugaev was the only remarkable name on his sheet. He is currently rated 81st in the All-Time Light Welterweight ratings and if he were active, he would be rated 44th in the active ratings. This looks like a big mismatch. It's Bailey staying active and Mora looking to get back in the game with some noise by beating a guy who might be on the slide. The Brian's say Bailey 838.6 over Mora 717.5. I think it will be Bailey early.
The ESPN Main Event is scheduled to be a 10 round cruiserweight fight, Eric Fields vs. Kelvin Davis. Fields fights out of Ardmore, OK. He is 10-0-0 with 8 KOs and 25 years old. He fought two weeks ago and got a first round KO against noname Eric Pippin. I have never seen him fight and he has never fought anybody. Fields is rated 137th in the All-Time Cruiserweight ratings and 79th in the Active ratings. This is a big step up for him. Davis was born in Natchez, MS, and fights out of Reno. He is 24-7-2 and 29 years old. He is a former Cruiserweight world titlist. He has lost his last three including with the most recent being in November to Carl Davis Drumond, undefeated up and comer, by Unanumous decision. I have seen him fight twice and I think he is a plodder with a big punch. Just keep coming forward and throwing and hope you catch something. He has foughtsome good names, Terry Smith, Darnell Wilson, Steve Cunningham, Guillermo Jones, Ezra Sellers, O'Neill Bell, Ravea Springs, Arthur Williams, but with the exception of the faded Williams and Sellers, he lost all of those. Still I don't think Fields is any good. I think he has built his record on Midwest stiffs. I think Davis is looking to get back on track here. Davis is rated 238th in the All-Time Heavyweight ratings and 107th in the Active ratings. The Brian's say Davis 714.8 over Fields 688.5. I will also take Davis.
The main event on Saturday is an HBO pay-per-view with four televised fights. The undercard starts with a 10 round Light Welterweight fight, Devon Alexander vs. DeMarcus Corley. Alexander fights out of St. Louis. He is 13-0-0 and 20 years old. He was the national champ in 2004. His last fight was a 1st round TKO in October against fellow undefeated Cory Peterson. I have seen him fight once unmemorably. He hasn't really been tested, but it is apparent that he is being groomed to be a stud. This will be his first big challenge. He is currently rated 190th on the All-Time Welterweight ratings and 59th in the Active ratings. Corley was born in and fights out of Washington, DC. He is 31-7-1 and 33 years old. He is a former World Light Welterweight champ. His last fight was a split decision loss in November to the decent Dairo Esalas. He has lost his last three. I have seen him fight three times. He is tough, a good boxer, decent hands, a good mover, too. But, he is on the down side. He has fought some greats, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, Junior Witter. He beat Randall Bailey and Ener Julio twice. He is currently rated 28th on the All-Time Light Welterweight ratings and 35th on the Active ratings. This is an up and comer taking a step up, but a safe one against a guy whose best days are behind him but who was very good once upon a time. The Brian;s say Corley 754.7 over Alexander 748.7. Close, but I think Alexander will win.
Fight number two will probably a twelve round Heavyweight fight, Mike Mollo vs. Andrew Golota. Mollo fights out of Oak Lawn, IL. He is 19-1-0 and 27 years old. His last fight was a second round TKO in October against Art Binkowski, mainly known as the guy who played Corn Griffin in Cinderella Man. I have never seen him fight and he has not fought many name guys. His loss was to a respectable DaVarryl Williamson. He beat Binkowski and Kevin McBride. He is currently rated 256th in the All-Time Heavyweight ratings and 75th in the Active ratings. Golota was born in Warsaw and fights out of Chicago. He is 40-6-1 and 40 years old. He fought for Poland in the 1988 Olympics and won a bronze medal. He has fought for the heavyweight title three times but never won. His last fight was a TKO victory over Kevin McBride in the 6th in October. (Mollo got it done in the second.) I have seen him fight at least four times. I think he is a very good talent. He has good skills, heavy hands, a good jab. He had a reputation for a while as being a dirty fighter, but I haven't seen that in his recent fights. His only problems of late have been his will. It feels like he gives up on fights from time to time. He has fought all the best, Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Lamon Brewster, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe twice, Orlin Norris, Michael Grant. He is currently rated 83rd in the All-Time Heavyweight ratings and 24th in the Active ratings. This should be interesting. I think Golota is the better talent and can still get it done. But, Mollo is on the way up and Golota has heart issues. Will he forget to show up on the big stage? The Brian's say Golota 932.6 over Mollo 794.7. I want for Golota to be good, just because I think he has turned over a new leaf. But, I gotta pick Mollo.
Fight number three, a 12 round Light Middleweight fight, Roman Karmazin vs. Alex Bunema. Karmazin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and fights out of LA. He is 36-2-1 and 35 years old. He is a former World Light Middleweight champ. His last fight was in November, a 3rd round KO against a good Alejandro Garcia. I have seen him fight once, getting beaten by Cory Spinks in a very close decision. He is a solid fighter and has a good work rate. Heavy handed and decent skills, but not the speed to keep up with Spinks. In addition to Spinks and Garcia, he has beaten Kassim Ouma and Keith Holmes, and lost to Javier Castillejo. He is currently rated 21st in the Light Middleweight ratings and 9th in the Active ratings. Bunema was born in Kinshasa, Congolese Democratic Republic and fights out of Atlanta. He is 28-5-2 and 32 years old. His last fight was a 2nd round TKO over nondescript Steve Walker in November. I saw him fight once, a blowout loss to Jermain Taylor. He has fought some decent guys, Taylor, Vince Phillips, Bronco McKart, and Michael Lerma. He also lost to Kassim Ouma when Ouma was on the way up. He is currently rated 199th in the All-Time Middleweight ratings and 37th on the Active ratings. This is a guy staying active a gainst quality opposition, but no real risk here for Karmazin. Bunema should make it an decent fight, but I don't think he has a chance. The Brian's say Karmazin 953.0 over Bunema 782.8. I'll take Karmazin.
And, finally, The Main Event of the weekend. 12 rounds, Light Heavyweights, Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Felix Trinidad.

Jones, Jr. was born in and fights out of Pensacola, FL. He is 51-4-0 and 39 years old. He was the outstanding fighter of the games in 1988 where he won a silver medal. He is a former Heavy, Light Heavy, Super Middle and Middleweight World Champ. He has been the best pound for pound fighter in the world for a good portion of his career. His last fight was a unanimous decision against a dangerous Anthony Hanshaw in July. I have seen him fight at least five times. He has a bit of an unorthodox style but he is ridiculously athletic. He has blazing handspeed and good knockout power. His defense is not perfect, but his speed usually makes up for it. Antonio Tarver raised some questions about his chin, but in his dotage, he appears to be improving his defense enough to make up for it. I still think he can be a World Class fighter. He has fought all the names around, Tarver, Glen Johnson, James Toney, John Ruiz, Clinton Woods, Montell Griffin twice, Otis Grant, Virgil Hill, Vinny Pazienza, Thomas Tate, Bernard Hopkins, Jorge Fernando Castro. He is currently rated as the number 5 All-Time Light Heavyweight and 25th All-Time Lb 4 Lb. He is 2nd in the Active ratings and 8th in the Active Lb. 4 Lb. ratings. Trinidad was born in Cupey Alto, PR and fights out of San Juan, PR. He is 42-2-0 and 35 years old. He has been a Welter, Light Middle, and Middleweight World Champ. His last fight was way back in May of 05, losing a unanimous decision to Winky Wright. I have seen him fight at least twice. He is great. Good power, good speed, good hands, but that was more than 2 1/2 years ago. We'll have to see what time has done to him. He has fought all the greats in his weight class as well, his only two losses coming to Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. He beat Ricardo Mayorga, William Joppy, Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya, Hugo Pineda, Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Yory Boy Campas, Oba Carr. He is currently rated 13th on the All-Time Welterweight ratings. If he were active, he would be the number one Active Middleweight. Two legends. First ballot Hall of Famers. Trinidad has been gone longer. He is also moving up in weight, while Jones is moving down. The last time Jones moved down was before his fight with Tarver. We all know how that went. The Brian's say Jones, Jr. 1092.8 over Trinidad 1071.5. I think the rust and the pounds will be heavy on Trinidad. I'll take Jones, Jr.
So, in summary, the Brian's pick:
Martinez---------I pick Martinez
Soto Karass------I pick Soto Karass
Bailey-----------I pick Bailey
Davis------------I pick Davis
Corley-----------I pick Alexander
Golota-----------I pick Mollo
Karmazin---------I pick Karmazin
Jones, Jr.-------I pick Jones, Jr.
The Trinidad-Jones, Jr. fight should be great. Don't miss it.